I saw Jane in the DIY store a few weeks ago. I asked her what she was doing (0) there, and she said she was buying new curtains. She told me that they'd moved into their new house (11) the previous month and that they (12) had a lot of work to do. She said that they'd finished painting it (12) the week before and that John (13) had cleared the garden the day before. She explained that their new furniture had been delivered (14) a couple of weeks before, but she couldn't arrange it until the following week because the carpets (15) hadn't arrived. She said she hoped it would look nice when it was all finished, and added that her parents (16) were coming to visit them (17) the following month.

Giải thích:

• (0) there: "Here" trong câu trực tiếp được chuyển thành "there" trong câu gián tiếp.
• (11) the previous month: "Last month" (tháng trước) được chuyển thành "the previous month" (tháng trước đó) hoặc "the month before".
• (12) had a lot of work to do: "There's lots of work to do" được tường thuật lại bằng cách dùng "had" thay cho "is".
• (12) the week before: "Last week" (tuần trước) được chuyển thành "the week before" (tuần trước đó).
• (13) had cleared: "Cleared" trong câu trực tiếp đã ở thì quá khứ đơn, khi chuyển sang câu gián tiếp, ta lùi thì về quá khứ hoàn thành (had cleared).
• (14) a couple of weeks before: "A couple of weeks ago" (vài tuần trước) được chuyển thành "a couple of weeks before" (vài tuần trước đó).
• (15) hadn't arrived: "Haven't arrived" (chưa đến) được chuyển thành "hadn't arrived" (chưa đến lúc đó).
• (16) were coming: "Are coming" (sẽ đến) được chuyển thành "were coming" (sẽ đến vào thời điểm đó trong quá khứ).
• (17) the following month: "Next month" (tháng tới) được chuyển thành "the following month" (tháng tiếp theo).